Summary
A local Blue Origin engineer had been living with back pain since age 19, when he broke his back and eventually received Harrington rod spinal fusion surgery in 1990. For decades he managed his condition, but over the last two years his pain at the adjacent levels — L3-4 and L4-5 — became debilitating due to spondylolisthesis and disc damage. After pain management failed and his original surgeon retired, he was referred to Deuk Spine Institute by coworkers who had been treated there. The evening after his Deuk Laser Disc Repair® on both affected discs, he slept through the night pain-free, took no narcotic medication, and returned the next morning — less than 12 hours post-procedure — reporting his decades-long back pain was completely gone.
Transcript
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: I’m Dr. Deukmedjian at the Deuk Spine Institute. I’m here with a patient who’s actually a local boy.
Patient: Yes.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: He’s been here for many years working for Blue Origin and he’s had some back problems. You’ve had back pain for how long now?
Patient: Since I was 19. I fell and broke my back when I was 19. I went through the motions of dealing with it until just here, probably the last two years, it’s gotten really bad, so I decided I had to do something about it.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And he had a fusion done with screws and rods. You got Harrington rods put in 1990. We don’t do those rods anymore, but just below the fusion at L3-4 and L4-5, he had a spondylolisthesis and disc problems. We went in yesterday with the laser and we repaired those two discs. And how are you feeling today?
Patient: I feel fantastic. This is the best I’ve felt in months. I’m not taking any kind of medications — any kind of narcotics — to make it feel better. It feels fantastic and I’m so happy.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: The pain that you had in your back for the last 20 years — do you still have that pain?
Patient: I do not.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: It’s gone?
Patient: It’s gone.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Cured?
Patient: Cured.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Awesome. And what was your other option for treatment? I mean, if you didn’t go with the Deuk Laser Disc Repair®, what else could you have done?
Patient: The only thing I could have done was get a hold of the doctor that originally did the surgery, but he had just retired and I didn’t know where to turn. A few people that I know have already had procedures done here and told me about this — that’s when I came to see you. I don’t know what I would have done. I tried pain management, it didn’t work. After that, that was my only option — to come see you.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you heard about us from people locally — people that have been treated here. What did they have to say?
Patient: They said they feel 100% better. No pain. They’re living a normal life again.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And you can see in your surgery — those rods extended down, and we went in with the laser and cleaned out the annular tear that was causing all that pain for you. Surgery took us about an hour. And how long did it take you to recover from your surgery?
Patient: It was probably 45 minutes, and then my wife drove me home and I ate, and then I fell asleep for the rest of the night. I had the best night’s sleep I’ve had — I don’t even remember when.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: And here you are like 12 hours later.
Patient: Yeah, not even. Not even 12 hours.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: Not even 24 — 12 hours after surgery, because he had it last night, and now here he is back with no pain meds.
Patient: No pain meds.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: All right, was there anything else you want to tell your friends out there at Blue Origin?
Patient: If you have a back injury, come see Dr. Deuk, because he’ll fix you up. It’s a miracle. I’m so grateful for you.
Dr. Ara Deukmedjian: You’re welcome, sir. Thank you so much. Just good medicine, that’s all. No miracle — just good medicine. Take care of yourself.
Patient: You’re welcome. Thank you.
The Better Way: Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ (DLDR)
This patient underwent the Deuk Laser Disc RepairⓇ at Deuk Spine Institute for spondylolisthesis and annular disc tears at L3-4 and L4-5 — levels adjacent to a prior Harrington rod spinal fusion performed in 1990. Despite a complex surgical history and failed pain management, the Deuk Laser Disc Repair (DLDR)Ⓡ allowed Dr. Deukmedjian to access and treat the damaged discs using a minimally invasive laser approach, with no hospitalization, no narcotic pain medication, and complete relief of decades-long back pain achieved within hours of the outpatient procedure.